“Evaluating the Season in Oakland & What do You Consider a Successful Year for the Raiders?”

The Oakland Raiders are now 5-7 and entering the most difficult part of their schedule. The big question is what is an acceptable win total for this season to be considered a good one. The Raiders are 1-5 against teams with winning records, and 3 of the last 4 are against teams with winning records.

The Positives of 2015:

Derek Carr:

I liked the Derek Carr pick when he was drafted when few even knew who he was. It’s a huge issue in today’s quarterback light NFL to find a franchise quarterback and the Raiders have done that. His strong arm has helped the long passing game and he’s played well this year. He has limitations which will be discussed later.

He’s grown as a leader and is a quality person that also makes a team comfortable. He’s going to be a good pro for 5-10 years at least and the Raiders have a franchise quarterback which many teams can’t say. The future is bright for the Raiders and for Carr.

Offensive Line:

When healthy, the Raiders offensive line has been as good as any in the NFL. With Carr not being a great QB when rushed, this is imperative for the Raiders success. For part of the season Carr was the best protected QB in the NFL and some games he had all day to throw.

The Raiders running game has also been solid and other than Donald Penn, this is a young group that should be good for years to come. Gabe Jackson to me is one of the most underrated OL in the NFL. It’s not a coincidence that Carr has not been the same QB when center Rodney Hudson has been hurt. Carr needs time and the Raiders will need to get depth at OL in the off season. I really like this group though.

Offense:

Michael Crabtree’s contract extension is a good move by the Raiders. If you look at his numbers when healthy, they are excellent. Even with Amari Cooper’s drops, he’s still a solid WR and the sky is the limit with him. Teams have adjusted to the long ball and the Raiders have yet to learn how to best use Cooper, and he has also not adjusted.

I like the Raiders RB’s a lot. Latavius Murray, Jamize Olawale, and Roy Helu Jr. are solid. I’m disappointed that Helu Jr. isn’t used more though. Talented fan favorite Marcel Reece is probably going to be the odd man out next year leaving for another team. I think the Raiders have failed to use him right. He will help any team.

I like the Raiders tight ends. The problem is the Raiders just rarely throw to them. The announcers two weeks ago brought up the stats that the Raiders are one of the worst medium passing teams in the NFL and that has to change. Lee Smith is so underrated and is the best blocking TE in the NFL. Mychal Rivera and Clive Walford are solid and next year I hope they get more opportunities than they are now.

Defense:

The next month will be important for Kahlil Mack who’s had a few very quiet weeks in between great games. He has to do it on an every week basis to be elite. He was completely shut out against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A switch to LB may help him.

Charles Woodsen has been beaten up but he’s recovered from a tough start of the season to have a great year. The first month of the season he could not guard tight ends but the Raiders have changed up their defense to give him more freedom and it’s worked. The LB’s have had their ups and downs big time.

David Amerson has improved of late and the hopes are that he can take over at one of the CB positions. TJ Carrie has been hurt most of the year but I liked his play at Safety and I think playing him and Woodsen at S would help this team.

Special Teams:

The Raiders still can’t find a healthy and consistent returner. Marquette King has quietly become as solid a punter as there is and Janikowski has been hot and cold this year.

Coaching:

The Raiders seem much more professional and organized this year and it shows on the field. You don’t see as many mental errors as in the past.

The Negatives of 2015:

People like to throw up stats of young quarterbacks of today to show how great they are. Let’s be real though; the rules of today are a joke. DB’s are getting penalties for touching people and QB’s and WR’s can pretty much do as they please. Just in the Raiders games some of the calls are just beyond bizarre and phantom at best.

Throwing for 300 yards is almost the norm and in the last 3 ½ years passing and receiving yard records are falling like leaves. Most passing records have occurred in the last 3 ½ years and it’s not a coincidence.

Derek Carr has been much improved but right now he’s the 31st rated QB in the 4th quarter with a quarterback rating of only 60%. He also leads the NFL with 7 fourth quarter interceptions. He has and probably always will struggle against a pass rush. Some try to site how good he does against a blitz but of course he can do well if the blitz is picked up. In the 4th quarter of the KC Chiefs game, the Chiefs blitzed almost every play. The play calling never changed and against 5 and 7 step drop passes, Carr was toast and made some really bad throws.

Derek also is not a good manager of the game. He seems to kind of go with the plays that are called with few real audibles and that has to change. The injury to center Rodney Hudson really hurt the Raiders.

Offense:

Amari Cooper had a great first half of the season but teams soon adjusted. He has lost some confidence with drops being an issue the last month.

The Raiders lack of OL depth has been seen after Rodney Hudson got hurt. It’s something they need to fix this off season. Latavius Murray has to be more consistent. He’s had a couple of horrible games and in Chicago it got to the point that he was afraid to catch the ball, even looking to get hit. He has to show up every week.

Defense:

It’s been an up and down year for sure. The Raiders finally started playing DJ Hayden less and his days in Oakland are numbered. Seeing Star Lotulelei be a starting fixture on the best DL in the NFL and on the best team the Carolina Panthers hurts. He fell in the Raiders lap and the Raiders took Hayden instead.

Curtis Lofton is good against the run but really bad against the pass and Malcolm Smith is really good against the past but has struggles against the run. Ben Heeney is not good against the pass and is more of a backup. Moving Mack back to LB and bringing in or drafting a 3 down LB would greatly help this team. The DL seems to have lots of talent but they either struggle against the run or they can’t get to the QB at times. It’s very inconsistent.

Nate Allen has struggled with tackling and that’s when he plays. David Amerson shows potential at CB. Beating up on DJ Hayden anymore does no good for anyone. He’ll be gone next year. TJ Carrie’s health issues have hurt this year.

Special Teams:

The Raiders still need someone that can return kings on a week to week basis.

Coaching:

The Raiders are 21st in second half points with only 10 a game. They are 29th in 4th quarter points with only 4.8. That’s not a good second half team. The Raiders defense is dead last in the NFL in the 4th quarter giving up 10.8 points per game. The Raiders coaches need to do more at half time to combat opponents adjustments.

People that read me know I am not a Bill Musgrave fan. He has never had much success in 15 years and was even demoted and eventually fired by Jack Del Rio when they were at Jacksonville. For me his hire made no sense.

In the Chiefs game you saw this in an epic way. The Chiefs were struggling at times on defense so in the 4th quarter they just literally said lets blitz every play. They sent 5-7 players at Carr and there were no adjustments. Carr still tried to look deep and instead of running screens and short passes, the Raiders just kept doing 5 and 7 step drops.

On defense the Raiders started blitzing DB’s, especially CB’s. I didn’t understand that because the Chiefs started doing bubble screens and actually scored two touchdowns that way. Alex Smith is the Ichabod Crane of the NFL and no way is he going to throw downfield so they should have played press coverage and blitzed their LB’s if you want to blitz.

Special Teams:

Janikowski has had his bad moments this year. He’s had some rough games this year but I think he’s not going anywhere. The Raiders return game has to improve and they need someone that can consistently return kicks.

Overview of 2015 & Looking Forward:

As I said at the start of the year this is NOT a playoff team. I think next year is the Raiders year. Some will consider this year an epic fail and some fans could find the good in an 0-16 year and there really isn’t a bottom. The more realistic fan will realize the Raiders still have holes to fill but they are improved.

The first thing the Raiders need to do is stop talking about how confident they are and realize they have second half issues both on and off the field. The coaches are not adjusting and neither are the players. Eventually when you keep losing confidence starts becoming denial.

The Raiders have to start adjusting to what teams are doing. Carr needs to be much more active at changing plays.

Denver stops the run; you are not going to run wild on them. What do you do? Short passing game like Kansas City did. The minor weakness that the Broncos have is that their LB’s love to make big plays. They have on occasions struggled covering RB’s in the passing game. I throw to Roy Helu Jr. or Murray often. I also use the tight ends much more. The Chiefs nickeled and dimed the Broncos all game and wore them down. When you do that, now you can run some.

With their new QB the Broncos are a conservative passing team that wants to establish the run. Now you put a safety up to stop the run and blitz him to make him pass quickly. These are adjustments that need to occur.

What is your bottom line in regards to a successful season? I said 7-9 is average and 8-8 would be a nice season to be successful in the upcoming year. If the Raiders lose 3 of 4 though, a 6-10 season is a fail. The Raiders have a rough month ahead but there will be lots of opportunities for players to show they are a part of the equation for next year.